Tragedy of two friends who fell through the ice

A village is in mourning after the bodies of two young cousins were dragged from a lake. Louise McAloon, 12, and Veronica McAloon, ten, had been missing for 24 hours after going skating on Sunday.

They had been playing on the lake on Saturday afternoon and had such a good time they could not wait to return on Sunday, little realising that a thaw had weakened the ice.

It is thought one of the girls fell through the 2in crust and the other got into trouble while attempting a rescue.

Both girls were strong swimmers and used the lake for swimming in the summer. Louise had recently attained a lifesaver certificate.

Their bodies were found near each other in around 10ft of water following a search involving up to 300 villagers, a helicopter and divers in the Irish hamlet of Bellanode, Co Monaghan.

Louise's father Owen, whose wife died of a heart attack five years ago, said: 'We are devastated. We can't take it in. The girls were the best of friends and did everything together. They were so thrilled that the ice was safe enough for them to try out their skates on the Saturday but they didn't realise that the thaw had set in.

'They said they were only going out for half an hour and we didn't realise they were going back to the lake.'

Outside the family home 50 yards from Hollywood Lake, Mr McAloon, a farmer, said Louise was a quiet child who loved school and was inseparable from Veronica.

The two girls had told Louise's sister, Siobhan, that they were going back to the lake, which had been frozen for several days.

When they did not return the family hoped they had gone shopping instead. Louise died wearing the silver earrings her father gave her for Christmas.

Veronica was a pupil at St Mary's National School and one of five children. Her parents Martin and Mary were too distraught to talk.

A police spokesman said: 'The girls went skating on Saturday along with many other children and they had a wonderful time. But when they returned the following day, the big thaw had made the ice dangerous and it seems they both fell through.'

The girls are expected to be buried together. A neighbour said: 'They grew up side by side, they died side by side and they will be buried side by side.'